by Dr. Iain Corness
The
new marketing and communications manager at the Dusit Resort in Pattaya is
a charming Filipina, Cristina De Vera. She is a young woman who admits to
a very strong independent streak, which may have come from her mother.
“She is very stubborn, like myself,” said Cristina, when describing
the other members of her family.
Cristina was born in Quezon City, the second largest
city in the Philippines, and is the second child in a family of five
children. Her father worked in the construction business overseas. In
between and after having children, her mother ran a restaurant, which
currently the family would like her to relinquish, but mother has other
plans. Refer back to that certain stubbornness!
In grade school, it was obvious Cristina was bright,
and initially she hoped to become a doctor, but the science side was to
let her down. However, her creative self soon was to reign supreme. She
entered writing competitions. “I always won,” said Cristina, flashing
a wonderful smile, which would win over anyone, even without the essays!
By her third year in high school she knew her direction
was literary, and that journalism was for her, despite the fact that it
was a four year course at the State University in Manila. “I love words,
I love reading and contemporary literature.”
During her undergraduate years she submitted articles
to a women’s magazine, which were accepted, so when she graduated with
her Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Journalism, she was soon snapped up by
the same publication.
Typical of what often happens in the publishing field,
the magazine was then taken over by another, but Cristina found that she
was kept on to work in the new magazine covering the entertainment
business. There she interviewed the ‘stars’ of the day (so it was an
about face for her to be on the receiving end of this interview).
After a life of running after those who crave
publicity, but pretend to be reclusive, her next writing position was for
a construction magazine! At least the buildings were always there, always
on time, and didn’t have problems with their hair!
This change in journalistic direction was to have a
much greater effect on her life than just a new magazine. The owner of the
publishing house also had magazines being published in Bangkok and he
invited her to come over to Thailand. “I thought it was just a joke at
first,” said Cristina, but when he returned to the Philippines he
confirmed that he was indeed serious, and asked if she had her passport
ready. A flurry of activity ensued and Cristina arrived in Bangkok for the
next phase in her life.
What has to be understood at this point is her
previously referred to ‘stubborn’ nature. In her family there were
great pressures to conform. Girls should be married by a certain age, then
have babies and settle into the life of a married Filipina. This did not
sit well with a person with an independent streak, and moving to another
country was a way to stop the family pressures (which came from all the
relatives, not just her parents) and allow her to begin living ‘her
own’ life. “Marriage? Maybe in time. There are lots of things in life
I have to achieve. Things I want to do by myself. I have also seen my
contemporaries who have had less than enchanting marriages.”
The job in Bangkok was liberating in many ways. She was
required to visit Phuket, Pattaya and the provinces, seeking out stories.
She became even more independent with the tripping, and soon realized that
she enjoyed travelling, as well as writing. “You get a wider perspective
on things,” said Cristina. She was able to sit back with that wider
perspective and review her societal pressures, some of which were involved
with her Catholic upbringing. “Religion is very important in the
Philippines. The Catholic religion has a lot of power and there is no real
division between the religion and the state.”
However, another of those coincidences was about to
change her career direction. Through the usual friend of a friend
situation, she was offered the job as senior communications manager with
the Evergreen Laurel Hotel in Bangkok. She took it and spent the next four
years there, but when the Dusit Resort position came up in Pattaya, it
looked much more like her style of career. “Journalism is part of being
involved in communications. The media are powerful, the power to lure
people to the hotel.”
However, there is more than just the written word that
Cristina finds attractive in her position. “Meeting interesting people
is very satisfying. At our guest cocktail parties you can get to know
people personally. We learn about each other. It’s one of the perks
actually,” said Cristina after a moment of reflection.
So what does a strong independent woman like Cristina
De Vera do when she is not ‘communicating’? She reads. “I am a
voracious reader,” said Cristina, to emphasize the fact. She is still
catching up, having bought a large quantity of second-hand books before
tripping down to Pattaya.
She also enjoys movies, but not the average schmaltz.
“That’s one thing I do miss about Bangkok – the ability to go and
see ‘alternative’ movies. I like French and Italian ones.” She also
believes that Pattaya would be a wonderful venue for a film festival.
Something like Cannes, but in SE Asia. I have to agree.
If she has any time left she likes to do aerobics,
“to lose weight’, but admits that she is really too busy to do this
regularly.
Returning to her stated ambition of having many things she wants to do
by herself, there is a travel bug, with Prague and Italy high on the list,
and when she eventually returns to the Philippines she would like to do
something that would make a difference in her society. That independent
nature will make it happen. Believe me!
